For Justice! Truth! Food! and Money!
by Torchie
Summary: ...not necessarily in that order. The gang meets up in Filia's new home town after a long time away from each other. Following Amelia to her latest Justice mission before heading out for new adventures, they stumble upon things they never expected...
1. Slavetraders and Water Teleportation

It's after the defeat of Dark Star, and Lina and Gourry have wondered into another small town. Splitting ways with her sidekick, Lina bumps into Filia, the golden dragon in her human form. She is surprised to find that the ryuuzoku is running a pottery and mace shop...  
  
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"Ne Filia... How long do you plan on doing this?" Lina asked the female dragon, looking around the shop from her chair. The shelves were all lined with pots and maces. and more pots and maces. Her eyes settled on tiny baby Valgarv resting on the pink, fluffy pillows that lay in the basked. He was still encased in that aquamarine glow, though growing rapidly for a dragon. Her mouth twisted slightly in distaste for herself. To think she had nearly killed. But that was the past, when she had no choice. He was reborn, and he was living---that's what mattered.  
  
"Doing what, Lina-san?" Filia asked the red haired sorceress, looking up from counting the money she'd made that day. Her gaze shifted to little Val laying in the basket, and she smiled, then her eyes flickered back to Lina.  
  
Lina rolled her eyes. "How long do you plan on living in this ordinary place, in the middle of a quiet town, in the center of a boring land?" she explained. It was a little to calm for her tastes, and if she hadn't stumbled upon Filia, she would have been long gone. She wondered where Gourry had run off to shortly after entering town. Oh well---whatever that jellyfish did was not any of her responsibility.  
  
Filia shrugged. "Probably until little Val has grown and settles. Or at least until he stops glowing. Where did Gourry and the others go?"  
  
The ryuuzoku made the idealistic mother, and Lina couldn't begin to imagine what it would be like. "Oh Gourry is probably admiring some childish things again. As for Zelgadiss and Ameria... I haven't seen them since we parted ways shortly after we defeated Dark Star." She missed them, but that was something she wouldn't admit even to herself.  
  
Filia nodded. She knew Lina couldn't stand the dreary place she lived, in a town where virtually no action took place. She was probably just staying because of her. "You can leave if you want, Lina-san," Filia told the sorceress. "I know you are bored here. Someone like you needs some monster or battle."  
  
"I suppose," Lina replied with a sigh. "Who knows where Gourry has wondered off to, though. It'll take ages to try and find him." Though, waiting for him to find this place was probably a worse idea.  
  
Xelloss happened to phase in on that statement. "If you're looking for Gourry-san he is a few blocks down from here," he told them in a matter-of- fact tone.  
  
Filia glared at the purple-haired mazoku and whipped out her mace-o-sama. "We weren't asking you."  
  
Lina groaned. She never fancied the idea of seeing Xelloss again, but she knew it was inevitable. The priest would never leave her life permanently. "Xelloss, what are you doing here?"  
  
He frowned slightly. "Oya oya, you could have sounded at least a little happy to see me!" he whined. "After all, we haven't seen each other since you defeated Dark Star."  
  
She sighed, then glared at him and instantly had him in a headlock. "That reminds me, I never did properly punish you for taking Galvayro from me."  
  
Filia shook her head. Lina always did remember to repay her grudges. She heard Val give a little hiccup/mumbling sound, and quickly went to check on the baby dragon, glancing back to make sure Lina was still... 'keeping an eye' on Xelloss.  
  
"I-t-t-t... So you remembered?" Xelloss asked with a sweatdrop.  
  
"Of course I did!" Lina screeched back at him, a small white fang revealing itself at the corner of her mouth.  
  
Gently tucking Val back into the pink and white covers, Filia smiled down at the little dragon. She checked on his growing claws and scales, made sure she'd fed him all ready, then turned around to Lina and Xelloss. "Lina- san?"  
  
Lina tilted her head up at the ryuuzoku. "What's up, Filia?" she asked. She tightened her grip on Xelloss's neck as he attempted to get away, nearly pulling his head off his shoulders in the process.  
  
"I'm going to go buy some things. Can you watch the shop for awhile?"  
  
"Yeah, sure," Lina replied. She bonked Xelloss on the head, then let him go. "I'll take care of it," she reassured.  
  
Filia smiled and took a basket sitting under the counter. "Arigato gozaimasu." She went out the back door.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Gourry walked aimlessly around, with the growling of his stomach rumbling loudly. "Where did Lina say she was going to be?" he asked himself out loud. Then, he spotted a short, red-haired girl walk past him. "Lina!!" he cried joyously. He took hold of her shoulders, spun her around, and came face to face with a strange girl.  
  
"Ahhh! Slave trader! Somebody help me, there's a slave trader after me!" the girl screamed in alarm.  
  
"Huh? No, wait! Shh! I'm not a slave trader!" Gourry said, trying to calm the girl. She let out a high pitched scream.  
  
Lina's ears perked up to the scream just outside. Thinking it was some girl being harassed by a pervert, she stood up and carried a vase full of water to the window.  
  
"What are you going to do with that, Lina-san?" Xelloss asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.  
  
"I'm going to do... this." She threw open the window and dumped the water out from her place on the second floor. Then she poked her head out and, not recognizing the blonde swordsman, shouted, "Keep it down out here before you make me do something deadly!" She then shut the window again and sat back down in her chair.  
  
That was harsh," Xelloss commented.  
  
"Urasai, anta," she replied, glaring at him.  
  
Filia saw the cascade of water fall from her shop's window, then heard the shouting of Lina. A look of recognition crossed her face when she saw the man that was now soaked in water. "Gourry-san?" She walked over to him.  
  
"Oh Filia!" He sneezed. "Hey do you know where Lina is?" he asked while trying to get the water off.  
  
"Lina-san was the one who just dumped water on you," Filia informed him, giggling.  
  
"Ahhh!!" The girl continued to scream.  
  
"Hey shh! People will hear you!" he said, looking around nervously. "Filia! Help me!!"  
  
The blonde girl gently laid a hand on the screaming girl's shoulder. "Gourry-san here isn't a slave trader. He just mistook you for someone else."  
  
"See, I'm not!" he stated proudly. The girl stopped screaming, but continued to look at Gourry suspiciously. "I'm not!!" The girl stepped backward, testing him, before turning tail and running off.  
  
"Hey I heard Lina's voice a moment ago!" Gourry said brightly. "I think her voice came from that direction," he said while pointing. "Oi! Lina!"  
  
"Hmm?"  
  
"What's the matter, Lina-san?"  
  
She looked around, confused. "I could've sworn I just heard someone call my name."  
  
Xelloss held a finger out to baby Val, playing around with the tiny dragon. "You must have been hearing things," he answered. He winced slightly as Val bit his finger, feeling a sharp fang or two cut his skin.  
  
"Huh? No answer." Then the swordsman remembered that he was soaked, and a thought came to him. "You said Lina poured this water on me? That must mean... she can transport water!" he said smartly to himself. "Then she must not have heard me with all the water she's transporting! LINA!!"  
  
Lina looked up again in response to the faint call.  
  
"Lina-san?" The mazoku tried to pull his finger back. He glared at the baby, fighting the urge to just rip the dragon's teeth out.  
  
"I think I heard someone call out for me again," she said with a sigh. "I wonder where that idiot walked off to again."  
  
Xelloss forced back a chuckle. "Who knows." Actually, he had heard Gourry's screams and was just pretending not to.  
  
"I... i... oiy..." Filia murmured, a sweatdrop appearing on her head. "Gourry- san... Lina-san is up there." She pointed up at the window just above them.  
  
"Oh! Lina's up there!" he said, looking up at the window.  
  
"Which reminds me... I have to go buy some things for the shop. If you want to see Lina-san, go through that door. She should be in the main room."  
  
"Well! Finding her wasn't that hard. Now to see if she has any food." He patted his stomach as he walked in.  
  
Lina turned to the sound of the door chimes and saw Gourry walk in. "Yo' Gourry. Took you long enough to get here." She paused and blinked at him curiously. "Why are you all wet?" she asked, pointing a finger at his wet outfit.  
  
Xelloss fell down laughing behind her where she couldn't see, hands clamped over his mouth in order to keep quiet.  
  
"Wet? Oh! You know, you transported water into the air and it landed on me!"  
  
"..." A very large question mark popped up above Lina's head, matching her facial expression. She then shook her head quickly and walked over to give Gourry a knock on the top of his head.  
  
"Wha---" His eyes slightly popped out before he dropped to the ground. "What was that for?!" He then spotted a whole plate of seasoned chicken. "Boy, I'm hungry!" He dropped his hurt expression and edged towards the chicken.  
  
She watched him with her eyes narrowed and arms crossed. When he was only two feet from the chicken, she jumped over and popped him on the head with her elbow. "Don't even think about taking my chicken," she said, snatching the plate away.  
  
'Guess I'd better get out of here before Lina-san decides to do something harsh,' Xelloss thought, phasing out of the building just seconds before a fireball exploded inside. Thinking twice about going back in, the Xelloss decided to drop in on a certain ryuuzoku's shopping.  
  
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So now what do you think? Things are getting a little more interesting, ne? Don't worry, plenty more to come! Want to suggest something? Want to praise and worship me? (Just kidding, do that to Purin-chan... she get's really annoyed, just call her Purin-sama...) Review! Click... 


	2. Temper, Temper

Recap: Lina, Gourry, and Filia are all in the same town, and while Filia went out shopping, Lina was supposed to watch over the shop. Well... when someone tries to steal your food, it's only reasonable that you blow them and your entire surrounding environment up, right? Xelloss, who'd really rather not be caught in a fireball, skipped out and decided to visit a little ryuuzoku friend...  
  
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Filia walked into an herb shop and looked around. She inhaled deeply, breathing in the mingled scents of cinnamon, thyme, and rosemary. She walked around, picking up packets of herbs she would use to scent her shop. She spotted a packet of orange peels and some white petals, she read off the label. "For innocence, good life, and getting rid of negative or evil energy."  
  
Just then, Xelloss crept up behind Filia, making sure she wouldn't notice. When he stood right behind her, he shouted, "Hello Filia!" and took a peek at what she was holding.  
  
She yelped and threw the bag up. It opened slightly and its contents sprinkled down around her... "You. you namagomi!" she yelled, her tail popping out.  
  
A tick mark appeared on his forehead. "Well at least I'm not some overgrown, short-tempered, slimy excuse for a lizard," he shot back. "Oh and you're scaring the villagers with that tail of yours. Or maybe it's just you." He pulled on the bottom of his eyelid and stuck his tongue out at her.  
  
Her eyes closed as she twitched. Suddenly she whipped her mace out and whipped it at him. "How... dare... you, you stupid, cheating, selfish mazoku!!!"  
  
Easily dodging her attacks, he waggled his finger in a 'tsk tsk' manner and commented, "No self control at all. How did you ever qualify as a priestess?"  
  
Stopping instantly, the blonde's eyes started to water. "I... I..." she started, sniffing. Her tail tucked back under her and her mace disappeared beneath her dress, and she dropped to the ground. Her hand landed on one of the white petals and the other on an orange peel. An idea popped into her head, and she smiled to herself. She bent over, cradling her head in her arms, crying.  
  
Xelloss stared at her. He would have been blinking if his eyes were open, but they weren't. "Anou... Filia..." he began, not believing that this was happening.  
  
"Why... why are they all so mean to me?" she sobbed. "All I did was ask them to fulfill a prophecy, and I get mixed in with all these things! I'm trying to lead a stable life with little Val, but no one seems to want me to!" She sniffed.  
  
"Filia... are you really crying?" He bent over to see her lowered face.  
  
"Hah!" Filia reached up and rubbed the combined herbs into his face.  
  
It took a couple moments, but Xelloss's face turned a very fine shade of blue before he sank to the floor. "That... was really low..." he said quietly.  
  
"Hmph," the ryuuzoku said, waiting for him to stand up. "I wasn't completely sure that it would work, but I guess it did." Raising her voice, she said, "Mister, how much for this innocence herb combination? I'll take two boxes!"  
  
He grabbed a nearby cloth and rubbed the 'pureness' off of him. He glared at Filia, thinking of something to do in revenge later.  
  
"Well, if you don't mind, I have shopping to do," Filia told him, putting the boxes in her basket. She turned and exited the shop, walking down the road to find the tea shop.  
  
Xelloss clamped his mouth shut to keep from shouting useless flames. Instead, he teleported to the only tea shop in town and started replacing all the bags with pepper and awaited Filia's arrival.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Lina brushed off her hands from where she stood. Amidst all the ash, there was a small circle of cleanliness around her, the chicken, and the merchandise. She grinned at her handiwork and started chewing on the drumstick.  
  
Zelgadiss sat up, rubbing his stomach where a blow had hit him. He looked up, searching for whatever had hit him. His facial expression changed slightly when he saw a bundle of yellow hair that could only belong to one person.  
  
Laying on his back, Gourry murmured slightly in pain. "Why does she do that?" he asked himself, staring at the trail of smoke coming from the blasted building.  
  
"Gourry? Why are you burned?" the chimera asked the swordsman.  
  
"Huh?" Gourry turned towards the familiar voice. "Oh! Zelgadiss... burned? Oh, Lina set off a fireball."  
  
With a sigh, Zelgadiss said, "I should have known."  
  
The blonde jumped up quickly. "Lina has the chicken! Come on, Zelgadiss, we have to hurry before she eats it all!"  
  
"Why should I care if she's eating a chi---" Zel had no time to finish his sentence before Gourry dragged him away towards the building.  
  
The sorceress was, however, lounging in a surviving chair downstairs, tossing the chewed bone in her hand up and down. "Hmm... I wonder how long it'll take Gourry to get back this time." she pondered aloud to herself. She sneezed. "Stupid ashes." Suddenly, she heard what sounded like a stampede outside. She glanced out the window to see what looked like a huge, moving dust cloud.  
  
"Lina! Don't eat all of the chicken!" cried Gourry. He still held Zel's foot, dragging the rest of the chimera on the ground. When he had reached the shop, gone through the door, and stopped in front of Lina, he finally dropped Zel. "Lina! Where's my chicken?!"  
  
"Your chicken?" Lina asked. "Oh, you mean this chicken!" She tossed him the remaining bones and a small piece of chicken left from the thigh. She then noticed Zel lying on the floor behind Gourry. "Zel! How've ya' been?" She waved at him.  
  
"I was just dragged all the way over here. how do you think I've been." He replied a little too coldly. He glanced over to see Gourry cradling the chicken bones in his arms with misty eyes. He sighed with regret, thinking, 'Why did he have to bump into me...?'  
  
"Lina, why couldn't you save just a little?"  
  
"I did save you a little!" Lina protested, pointing to the small chunk of meat hanging off one of the bones. She looked at Zel, noticed he was just as grumpy as usual, and sighed.  
  
Gourry cried of joy and attempted to get at the meat, but for some nasty reason it was attached to the bone that was surrounded by the rib cage. Zel watched the swordsman.  
  
"Lina... isn't Filia with you?"  
  
Just then, Filia, finally through shopping, came back down the road. When she neared, all she saw was rubble where her shop used to be. "Lina-san!" she called out, running over to the three people. Her anger showed slightly in her voice. "You were supposed to look after my shop! Where's Val, and what happened to my shop?!"  
  
The red head laughed nervously and put her hands together in front of her in a pleading position. "Gomen nasai?" she said, though unaccustomed to apologizing.  
  
"Your Val is over there," Xelloss informed the ryuuzoku, appearing out of nowhere. He was pointing at the basket sitting in a corner of the rubble, unharmed, and it seemed as though the aqua glow was the reason for it. He gestured towards the merchandise, also covered in the same glow.  
  
Filia didn't even take time to glare at the mazoku before rushing over to Val. He wasn't crying or hurt, and hadn't seemed to have even noticed that the building he'd been in had collapsed.  
  
"See? Lina-san didn't demolish your shop like she did this restaurant, a friend's place, and entire town."  
  
"Fireball!"  
  
Xelloss tapped his staff on the oncoming fireball, diminishing it just inches away. "Need to be quicker, Lina-san," he commented, eyeing her with amusement with an eye open."  
  
Needless to say, she fumed.  
  
"Lina-san, what happened?"  
  
"Lina blew it up," Gourry said.  
  
Lina's eye twitched. "You tried to steal my chicken. I blew YOU up out of self defense," she said, knocking him to the ground with one punch to his head.  
  
'They never change, do they?' Zel thought as he watched Lina slam Gourry to the ground.  
  
Xelloss glanced over at Zel, finding nothing new out of Lina and Gourry. A secretive grin crossed his lips as he inched his way over. "Still no cure?"  
  
Zel jumped at the voice behind him. Turning, he found himself face to face with Xelloss. "What are you doing here?" he asked in an annoyed voice.  
  
"Blew...?! Lina-san, you were supposed to watch over it, NOT BLOW IT UP!!!" A tick mark appeared on her forehead. "What if someone had gotten hurt? What if baby Val had gotten hurt?!" She got tiny fangs in her mouth.  
  
"Well, it was still his fault!" Lina protested, pointing at Gourry. "Why don't you yell at him?" she suggested, trying to pass the blame.  
  
Filia narrowed her eyes at Lina. "His fault, hmm...?"  
  
"You're too shy, Zel-chan ^_^," Xelloss said, smiling right into the chimera's face. Zel was just too easy to tease, and it was so much fun to do!  
  
"Shy??" Zel replied forcefully. His hand was on the hilt of his sword.  
  
"There's no need to do that, Zelgadiss," Gourry noted in a kind of side thought voice. He had finally managed to get the meat and was now looking through Filia's shopping bags, not really paying attention to Filia and Lina's argument.  
  
The mazoku held both hands up defensively. "No need to get so angry, Zelgadiss-san. I was just playing." he explained, thought he didn't move away.  
  
"Don't look through my bags!" With a flurry of her skirt, Filia pulled out her mace and whapped Gourry on the head, then turned to Lina. "Well, if you didn't have such a temper, my shop would still be intact!"  
  
"What temper?" Lina snapped, glaring at Filia for even daring to imply such a thing. She bared her fangs and restated, "It was because jellyfish- brains here wanted to steal MY chicken."  
  
Filia glared back, intent on an all out glaring contest.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Amelia walked down the road, somewhat sulking to herself. Prince Phil, her father, had sent her on another 'mission of Justice.' She was glad to oblige, but she had hoped she would have encountered a familiar person by now. She hadn't seen the others since she had gone back to her city after the defeat of Dark Star. She sighed, and looked up ahead. She could see some rubble in the near distance.  
  
"If Lina-san was here, she would want to investigate. So would Zelgadiss- san. I wonder if he's found his cure...?" As she neared, she could see a group of people standing in the center of the rubble, and thought she recognized them...  
  
"Lina-san! Gourry-san! Filia-san! Zelgadiss-san! Xelloss-san!" She started running towards them.  
  
Lina blinked at the sound of her name and turned in the direction of the voice. "A-Ameria?" she blurted out, surprised to see 'Little Miss Justice' as well.  
  
Xelloss pouted. He thought they really had lost the princess. Oh well, it was just a slight annoyance. Not that Zelgadiss would really care...  
  
Filia turned. "Amelia-san?"  
  
The said princess ran up to them, out of breath by the time she reached them "I'm... so glad... to see you... minna-san!"  
  
Lina sighed, then remembered something---Ameria had always been their prime source of money. She quickly smiled and replied, "Me too, me too! Ne, why don't we get something to eat after your long journey?"  
  
In the background, Xelloss facefaulted.  
  
"I'm getting hungry too!" Amelia smiled. "Let's go! Anou... Filia-san, do you know any good shops around here?"  
  
"Hai," Filia replied. "But let me get Val and my merchandise to store somewhere..." She easily hefted both, one in a large bag and one in her arms.  
  
"Yatta!" Lina cried out happily. She tapped the unconscious Gourry on the ground. "Did you hear that? Real food! Meshi do! Gohan yo!" she chirped, suddenly in high spirits again.  
  
Xelloss did a doubletake.  
  
Gourry, some now off the ground and now standing up, yelled a whoop of excitement.  
  
Zelgadiss opened his mouth to say a remark, but found himself in an empty--- save for Xelloss---and destroyed building. He looked around and saw everyone else in the distance, walking off. "Oi," he muttered, following them.  
  
"Yare, yare..." Xelloss rubbed the back of his head at the sudden turn of events, kicked some loose gravel, and teleported to catch up with them.  
  
"So what should we have?" Gourry asked dreamily. He had gone off into his little world of food and was trying to determine what he should have first.  
  
Lina turned to Filia and asked, "Hey, do they by any chance have dragon cuisine here?" After she realized who... or what she just said that to, she merely sputterd, "Oops."  
  
The ryuuzoku, however, ignored the question and simply disappeared into a building. A few moments later, she reappeared with only Val. "Okay... what would you like to eat?"  
  
"All you can eat buffet," Amelia suggested.  
  
"Yeah, yeah, an all you can eat buffet! And I'm up for seafood right now!" Lina agreed, nodding enthusiastically and grinning from ear to ear.  
  
"There's a really nice one up here," Filia told them. "Here it is." She stopped in front of an expansive restaurant with large glass windows. Inside were several people eating and a loooong buffet table.  
  
"All right!" Amelia said happily.  
  
"Yosh'a!" Lina yelled, then took off towards the buffet, leaving everyone else in the dust she kicked up. She pushed her way through the majority of the crowd and right up to the buffet table.  
  
"What should we start with first?" Gourry asked, this time to the rest of the group, while looking down the table.  
  
"I'll have... thisandthisandthisandthisandthisandthisandthisandthis..." the sorceress announced, going down the table and picking up a serving of each item. She emerged from the crowd carrying multiple plates and smiling widely. She put them all down on a table near Xelloss, who'd arrived before them and had sat in the corner watching, and said, "Itadakimasu~!" before digging in.  
  
The mazoku took a sip of water and sighed. Lina was Lina, always.  
  
Gourry had helped himself to just about everything as well and had joined Lina at the table, eating as he sat. "This... is... really... great!" he said, chewing and swallowing.  
  
Zelgadiss, who was too impatient to stand in the crowd of people, headed over to the capuccino machine.  
  
Amelia took a few plates before seating herself. She ate in a more... refined... manner and watched Lina and Gourry out of the corner of her eye with a large sweatdrop.  
  
Filia sat, watching her friends eat. Lina looked happier with Zel and Amelia back, and even seemed glad to have Xelloss around. Now that they were all in one place, with luck... something was just bound to happen.  
  
"Yup yup yup! Good going Filia! Knew we could count on you!" Lina said gleefully as she stuffed her mouth with pork, buns, shrimp, beef, celery, water, crab, lobster, fish, crawfish, ham, fish balls, dumplings, gelatin...  
  
"Still pigging out I see..."  
  
A tick mark appeared on her head as she turned around, reader to spit fire at whoever it was, eyes red and shooting daggers. The entire atmosphere vanished in an instant as she swallowed the flames and slowly sank to the ground, shrinking in size and hiding under the table.  
  
Xelloss literally dropped his cup to the floor, letting it shatter into a million pieces. He started at their unexpected visitor. "L-L-L-L-L..."  
  
Amelia's eyes widened as she saw the person standing there. "Are you...? She had to be... she was the only one who could scare Lina like that. She was the only one who could scare Lina, period.  
  
"GYAHHHHHHH!!! #&^*@#!" Lina screamed, and took cover behind the person farthest away from her, who happened to be Xelloss at the time. She crouched down and cowered, a dark blue cloud surrounding her head to add to the atmosphere. "Tasukete..." she cried in a whiney voice.  
  
The purple-haired mazoku sweatdropped at her, then faced the visitor who was smirking at Lina's actions. He nodded his head in politeness and said, "It's been a while, Luna-san."  
  
"Lina?" Gourry said uncertainly, looking at the figure that had scared the sorceress off.  
  
Zelgadiss looked from Lina to her older sister continuously, unsure of the tense silence that had occurred.  
  
"Lina-san..." Filia murmured.  
  
"Luna-san, is it? You're Lina-san's sister, right?" Amelia asked.  
  
"Sister?" Gourry racked his brains for the information, then remembered Lina mentioning something about a sister to him before.  
  
"Yup. I'm that brat's sister," Luna answered, tossing a sharp knife up and down. She glanced over at Lina, who was cowering on the floor with her back turned. "Mom and dad asked me to give this to you." She caught the knife by the handle and sent it flying in Lina's direction, piercing a note to the ground beside her.  
  
See Lina scream. See Lina scream very loud. See Lina shoot up through the ceiling in fright. See Lina land on Zelgadiss. See Lina unconscious to the world around her.  
  
"Lina-san?"  
  
"Lina-san!" Amelia and Filia went over to the sorceress.  
  
A bubble cloud with the phrase "..." appeared above Xelloss's head. He swatted it away, then picked up the note and started reading it. "Come home. Now." He gave it a question mark and turned to Luna. "What's this all about?" he asked.  
  
Luna folded her arms. "Well, mom and dad said they had something to discuss with her. You all had better get going," she told them.  
  
Lina twitched a few times, but the spirals didn't disappear from her eyes.  
  
Zelgadiss sat a bit stiffly with Lina in his lap. "Oi... Lina?" He poked her. "Lina!" He attempted to shake her awake. He stopped shaking her after awhile, since it showed no signs of waking her. Suddenly, he had an idea. Motioning for Gourry, he whispered in his ear.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Just go get it..."  
  
"Hai... hai..." replied the blonde swordsman as he turned. He returned a minute later with two small things in his palm. He followed Zel's motions and slipped them into Lina's mouth.  
  
Using his left hand, Zel moved Lina's jaw up and down to chew the red chili peppers, then tilted her chin up to allow generous amounts of spicy juice to slide down her throat.  
  
Lina's mouth twisted a bit. A second later, her eyes shot open and she was on herfeet, hopping around and breathing flames at everyone. "ATSUI!!!"  
  
Luna stepped aside just as fire flew by her head. She was laughing, highly amused by the scene before her. "And you criticize ME for doing things to her," she said before falling to the floor in giggles.  
  
Xelloss sat on the floor with his legs crossed and head on the palm of his hand. He had an eyebrow raised as he looked up, watching the lines of fire pass by overhead repeatedly. He sighed, "Now what can I do in this situation...?  
  
Amelia made her way over to Xelloss while dodging the flames. She leaned down and whispered something in his ear, smiling.  
  
He sweatdropped and blinked at her in disbelief. "You're joking, right?' He glanced at the others and wondered what their reactions would be. He swallowed his pride for a moment, stood up, and while dodging the flames, walked over to the fire-breathing sorceress. He tapped her on the shoulder. "Lina-san?"  
  
She turned to him, teary-eyed, and asked, "Water?"  
  
He shook his head, placed a finger to her lips to stop the coming outburst, then replaced that with his lips.  
  
Behind them, Luna whistled.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
What do you think now, hmm? ^-^ Yes, we are having too much fun with this. Want to correct any spelling/grammar? Want to ask the authoresses some questions? Review! Click... 


	3. An Old Acquintance and New Happenings

Recap : After the gang got back together, they followed Filia (or their stomachs) to a restaurant (go figure). Lina's sister Luna found them, and Lina... freaked, to say the least. To wake her up from her coma, Zel poured some hot chili juice down her throat. When she starts to spout fire, however... well, a certain naughty little mazoku 'cures' her...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Amelia smothered a laugh as she watched Lina flush red. Forgetting her princess dignity, she collapsed in giggles. Gourry, uncertain of the silence, poked his head out from under the table from which he was hiding under. Crossing his arms, Zelgadiss frowned slightly at the sight before him.  
  
Xelloss backed off slightly, breaking away from Lina. He had to bend over to see her lowered face. "Okay now?" he asked, grinning at her. When she didn't respond, he brushed her bangs to the side and kissed her lightly on the forehead. "Kawaii," he whispered in her ear.  
  
The sorceress was blushing furiously. Her first kiss (that she knew of) had been taken by a mazoku... and not just any mazoku, mind you. She hadn't reacted quickly enough when he neared her again. She was about to slap him when she heard him tell her she was kawaii, but instead dropped to the ground, for her legs had turned to liquid beneath her.  
  
"Hmm..." Luna remarked. "Looks like Xelly-chan has a crush on that brat sister of mine... I wonder what Zelas would say...?"  
  
The blonde swordsman came out from under the table and was now glancing around confused at the tense atmosphere. The chimera, however, stared forcefully at the ceiling, trying to ignore what was happening, but was finding it quite difficult. His eyes continued to float downwards.  
  
Xelloss patted the girl on her head, then walked over to Zelgadiss and asked, "Jealous?"  
  
"Feh!" he spatted out. " Why should I care..." he added as a side thought.  
  
Xelloss chuckled lightly. " You are jealous... but of whom?" he asked. "Me for kissing Lina-san or Lina-san for being kissed by me?"  
  
Zelgadiss started to flush slightly at the question. Instead of answering he turned his head sharply away from Xelloss.  
  
The mazoku pouted for a moment, then smiled as an idea hit him. He edged closer to Zelgadiss and leaned his face over his shoulder. " I can kiss you, too, you know..."  
  
The other man's eyes widened slightly at the unexpected words. He turned to see the fruitcake's smiling face over his shoulder. Then he turned if possible, a brighter shade of red.  
  
After standing a few moments in shock, Filia finally blinked out of her stupor. She couldn't believe that that mazoku had kissed Lina and was now teasing Zelgadiss. She calmly handed Val over to Amelia. Then, she whipped out her Mace-o-sama and swung quickly at Xelloss's head. "You Namagomi!!! You dirty mazoku, what did you think you were doing?!?!?"  
  
Xelloss turned around to see the mace just inches from his face. He casually leaned back out of its range, forgetting that there was someone else behind him...  
  
Zelgadiss's eyes popped out as the mace mad contact with the back on his head. "This wasn't the kind of kiss I expected..." he thought in his head as he dropped to the ground.  
  
"Oi! Lina? Are you alright?" Gourry asked, while moving his hand up and down in front of her face. She was staring blankly off into space. "Amelia! Something's wrong with Lina!"  
  
If she hadn't been holding Val, the princess would have face faulted. "Never mind... she's probably still healing from that kiss." She giggled.  
  
"Zelgadiss-san!" Filia dropped her mace and went over to Zel. "Go- gomen nasai! Are you alright?"  
  
Upon hearing the ryuuzoku's worried voice, Amelia turned. When she saw that Zel had been whopped with the mace, she ran over. "Zelgadiss-san! Zelgadiss-san!"  
  
Luna stalked over to Xelloss, who was amused by the whole situation and had sat down and ordered a cup of tea. "How has she been?" she asked him.  
  
He glanced up at her curiously. "Lina-san? Or are you talking about Juu-ou-sama?"  
  
She rolled her eyes. "Who do you think I mean?"  
  
He thanked the frightened waiter with a nod and sipped at his cup. "Juu-ou-sama has been the same since you last saw her," he replied.  
  
"By the way..." Luna pointed at Zelgadiss and Lina. " Are they... do you...?"  
  
Xelloss looked away, then replied, "I don't know."  
  
Lina, meanwhile, buried her face in her hand and sulked. "My first kiss stolen by a mazoku. my innocence has been taken away from me..."  
  
"Innocence? what innocence?" Gourry asked Lina.  
  
Lina shot him a characteristic glare. "Urasai, anta."  
  
In response to the two girls, Zelgadiss stirred a bit before sitting up and rubbing the lump that appeared on the back of his head.  
  
"Zelgadiss-san?" Filia poked the chimera's shoulder.  
  
Amelia squatted down besides Zel. "Zelgadiss-san..." She put Val down and put her arms around the chimera, trying to help him up.  
  
The red headed sorceress stood up and folded her arms, though her cheeks were still tinted pink. "A--Anyway, we should get going..." She paused and looked over the group. "But... I want my sushi first! ^.^" she declared before heading over to the sushi bar.  
  
Luna rolled her eyes. "She'll never change."  
  
Seeing that Amelia had taken over, Filia gently scooped up Val. "Tell Zelgadiss-san... gomen nasai for me," she said. She sat in the nearest chair--she had a feeling, and didn't want to get between the princess and her crush.  
  
Lina returned with a large plate... well, plates, rather, of sushi and set them down. Gourry looked over. "Lina... can I have some?"  
  
She glared at Gourry. "Go get your own food," she told him, holding a protective arm around the plates.  
  
Xelloss scanned over the group, choosing his next victim. Deciding that he had picked on Lina enough that day (and would get his butt kicked if he got anywhere near her for now), so he teleported behind a certain ryuuzoku...  
  
"Hmm... looks like he's been growing doesn't it?" he commented upon the young Val.  
  
Filia glance up to see the mazoku hovering above her. "What do you want?" she asked, glaring at him.  
  
Xelloss smiled, glad that she could be intimidated as easily as always. " I'm just checking up on how baby Val is doing. Is there something wrong with that?"  
  
Zelgadiss, now awake, stood up while being helped by Amelia. "I'm fine..." he said. He untangled himself from her grasp. "We should get going..."  
  
"Go where?" Gourry asked, eyeing a certain someone's food.  
  
"To Lina's parents' house..." He walked over to Lina quietly and grabbed both of her wrists as she continuously continued to scoop food into her mouth. He twisted her arms behind her and dragged her out while motioning with a swift movement of his head for everyone to follow.  
  
Lina struggled and thrashed, attempting to release herself from Zelgadiss's hold. " Wait, wait! I didn't get to try the salmon kind yet!" She continued to try and walk back and didn't notice the wall Zelgadiss walked around. Of course, she ran into it and followed behind him quietly while rubbing the growing lump on her head. Maybe not so quietly...  
  
Amelia blinked, then followed him out. "Zelgadiss-san... what are you doing?"  
  
Filia sweatdropped. "I suppose I should go now. I'm going with the others." She moved herself out from Xelloss's gaze and ran out to follow the others.  
  
Luna shrugged in hopelessness. "Well, back to work."  
  
Xelloss surveyed the damage, realized that if he stayed he would have to pay for the damages, and ran out behind them leaving one small silver piece to pay for everything.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Gourry walked alongside everyone else, not noticing the stares they were receiving from all the people they were passing.  
  
"Is it just me or is everyone around here staring at us?" Zelgadiss asked cautiously, eyeing the people staring at them.  
  
"Why is it that they are staring?" Filia wondered aloud softly, turning red.  
  
Lina glared at the surrounding people, scaring off most of the crowd. She scoffed at them. "You think they'd at least say what's the matter..."  
  
"Huh? Are they?" Gourry asked looking around.  
  
"Yes they are jellyfish brains."  
  
"Oi... Lina where exactly do you parents live?" Zelgadiss asked curiously as he watched a man near them run in fear.  
  
She gave the swordsman a side glare, then turned to Zel. "Well, they run a store in my hometown Zefielia. Her mood dropped. "I never wanted to go back..." she muttered.  
  
Xelloss followed behind them quietly... watching you-know-who as always.  
  
Amelia walked faster to catch up with Lina. " Lina-san?"  
  
"Hmm?" Lina slowed down a bit so Amelia could keep up with her pace. "What is it Amelia?"  
  
"I don't know if I can go with you..." Amelia said softly. "Daddy sent me on a mission. That's why I'm here "  
  
Lina stopped walking and turned to face her. "What's up? Another peace treaty? A threatening kingdom? War?" A little more lightly she also asked, "By the way, how's Phil-san doing?"  
  
"A peace treaty," Amelia said. She smiled a bit. "He's doing well. Very active and often tours our city to make sure everyone's doing alright, as a true servant of Justice should!"  
  
Xelloss sneezed at her mention of justice. "Guess she'll never change," he muttered.  
  
Lina sweatdropped. "That's good to hear..." Though if anything did happen to that giant dwarf for a prince, she wondered how Amelia would take it. "Should we come with you and help 'persuade' them?" Lina asked with an innocent, deceiving-to-people-who-didn't-know-her kind of grin.  
  
The princess narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Lina. "As long as you uphold the code of Justice..." Her eyes softened. "Besides, it's nice to travel with you..." Her eyes flickered to Zel before going quickly back to Lina.  
  
Lina flashed a peace sign at her, then turned to everyone else. "Okay, it's been decided, then! We go with Amelia to see what's his name and make him sign the treaty! Then we can go see my parents later..."  
  
Xelloss groaned. He didn't like the idea...at all.  
  
Filia nodded her agreement. "I think she is just happy at the prospect of not having to see her parents for a while longer..." she murmured to herself.  
  
Xelloss backed off a bit. "Umm... peace treaties aren't my kind of thing... so I'll leave this to you! Ja mata!" He waved before vanishing into the air.  
  
"Xelloss-san..." Amelia half grumbled. 'Oh well,' she thought to herself. 'Maybe it's better without him.'  
  
Lina stared at the spot he vacated for a while, then scowled quietly and looked away. " Baka mazoku," she muttered.  
  
Zelgadiss let out a sigh of relief... 'Not having *him* around would make this mission go by quicker,' was all Zel could think as Xelloss left.  
  
"Treaty?" Gourry asked. "What treaty?" he asked himself this time, sort of testing his knowledge.  
  
"The peace treaty Amelia's father asked her to bring to another country/city," Filia said, rhater patiently. She felt relieved when Xelloss had left, and was even up to explaining simple things to Gourry.  
  
"All right, then... off to Zefielia!" Amelia cheered, walking briskly.  
  
"Zefielia? Isn't that..." Filia pondered.  
  
Imaginary glass shattered before Lina. She froze in place, speechless from the shock. " Ze-ze-ze-ze-ze-ze-ze-ze-ze...?"  
  
"What is it Lina-san?" Amelia stopped, looking back.  
  
"...I REFUSE!!" she screamed, taking off in the other direction and digging a hole with her fingers, then burying herself in it.  
  
"Hmm... that was unexpected," Xelloss remarked from his sitting place atop a bell tower. He sweatdropped at her.  
  
Amelia's eyes went widened before she turned to the others. "What...?"  
  
"I believe Zefielia is Lina-san's home kingdom," Filia informed her.  
  
"Doesn't she have to go there anyway?" she asked.  
  
The dragon nodded. "Lina-san, you have to go there to see your parents... this just saves you the trip!" she called in the direction the sorceress had gone.  
  
"IIIEEE~!" she cried back, though since she was underground, it reached the surface as a loud earthquake.  
  
Xelloss fell from the tower from the "earthquake". He landed on his head with a thud and an "Ouch."  
  
Amelia sighed. "It's useless..."  
  
"Lina-san..." Filia said, pulling out the piece of paper Luna had thrown, "The end of this note says, 'You better go... or else. Love, Sis.' I don't think she means you'll be punished by her parents..."  
  
Lina whined, " Do I have to...?" she cried back like a little child.  
  
"Lina-san you MUST come with me! Peace treaties are made in the name of Justice... and you ARE a servant of Justice, aren't you?..." Amelia ranted.  
  
Filia sighed and sat on the ground, setting up tea on her blanket." Would you like some tea?" she asked Zel and Gourry. "By the way," she remarked off handedly, "Since Amelia-san is a princess bringing a peace treaty, I'm sure the king and queen would be more than happy to treat her and her friends to any food they wish... they may even throw a feast for us..."  
  
Lina's ear twitched. "A... reward?" A few moments later her hand popped out of the ground, along with the upper part of her body. " Let's go and let them have a taste of Justice! Ne, Ameria?" Lina asked, fire lit in her eyes.  
  
Ameria smiled. "I knew you would come through as a servant of Justice!" She agreed, pretending she hadn't heard anything about the reward. She leapt onto a rock, striking a pose, "Justice triumphs over everything! It can turn the weak to the strong, the evil to the good, and the hopeless to those who always succeed! In the end, we servants of Justice know that Justice will win!" Spontaneous lightning flashed behind her as she finished speaking.  
  
Lina joined Ameria on top of the rock, " You're exactly right!" she declared, though the imaged portrayed behind her was a shower of gold coins.  
  
Filia nodded, sipping her tea. Something about it tasted... odd. Odd... odd... she gagged and spit it out on the ground. This was not the tea she normally had. It burned her mouth, and her throat, and her vision blurred. "N-nani..."  
  
Zel also had the same reaction towards the tea. "What... where the hell did you get this tea, Filia?" he asked. He would have been yelling if his voice hadn't been reduced to a rasp.  
  
"The same place I always get it..." she answered. She painfully reached over to pull the tea bag out of the pot.  
  
"Filia-san? Zelgadiss-san?" Amelia asked, coming off her rock. "What's wrong?"  
  
"Huh? Filia, Zel, you guys look like you're going to be sick." Lina hopped down also and snatched the bag from Filia. She sniffed it, and sneezed. Once. Twice. Three times. "THIS IS PEPPER!!!" she yelled, throwing it on the ground... hard.  
  
In the background, Xelloss was laughing his head off.  
  
"I'll... be... fine..." Filia murmured. She found the water she carried to make the tea and poured some into a clean cup. She handed it to Zel, who gulped it down rather irregularly. Raising another cup to her own lips, she rejoiced mentally at the clear water. When her brain cleared, she poured another two cups and the two victims downed those.  
  
"How did those end up as pepper?" the princess wondered aloud, peering at the bag.  
  
Filia stood, eyes shaded, and head bowed. "I think I know..." she said very monotonously. Suddenly, she whirled around. "XELLOSS!!!" she screamed into the air, ignoring the other people that were now backing away... far away...  
  
"Hmm?" The mazoku popped into the air, a big smile plastered on his face.  
  
"You...!!! How did you...?!"  
  
"Sore wa... himitsu desu," he replied, waggling his finger. He winked. "You should know better, Filia-san." With that, he disappeared again.  
  
"Um... we better go," Amelia informed them softly, tugging on Filia's arm.  
  
"Then lets go!" Gourry shouted, raising his fist into the air.  
  
Zel, who had held back from attempting to pulverize Xelloss, sighed, cleared his throat, and followed them. Then, out of the shadows, mysterious black clawed hands dart out and grab Zel, pulling him from the rest of the group and leaving only a note.  
  
"I've never been to Zefielia..." said Gourry. "Oi! Zel, have you?" Stopping, he looked behind him to see a dotted outline of Zel, only with out him. "Eh?"  
  
"Huh? Where's Zel?" Lina asked, leaning back around the corner. "And... when did the crowd disappear?"  
  
Gourry looked over Lina's shoulder to see an empty street. Scratching his head he walked back down the street. "Huh? What's this?" he asked, picking up the dusty note off the ground. "It's a note from Zel!" He exclaimed. "It says 'Go on without me, I'll meet up with you later,'" he read. "Well I guess Zel wants us to without him..." Gourry said with an expression that he was in deep thought.  
  
Lina nearly ripped her hair out. "Mou...! Why does that guy always go on his own!?" she asked, frustrated. "You would think he'd change after all this time...!" She paused. "Wait, this does seem a little unlike him..."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Hai, hai, I know I said we wouldn't update unless we got reviews... well, we got one! ^-^ Thankies! Want to know what happened to Zel? Want to tell me about any mistakes in here? (I didn't type this chapter! Blame it on her! *points to Flame* Just kidding, but she did type it...) Review! Click... 


	4. Oniisama and NoseBiting Shadows

Recap : They meet each other. They go to a restaurant. Lina blows up the restaurant. Well, not really, she blows a hole through the restaurant because her sister appears. They leave (without paying, of course). They find out that Amelia's peace treaty is with Zefielia (What a coincidence! That's the exact same place Lina doesn't want to go!) Filia and Zel drink pepper tea. After that... Zel disappears. Fun, ne?  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Xelloss got up, rubbing the back of his head in pain. "Lina-san is dangerous with or without magic..." he muttered. Then, he noticed a couple of kids dragging a black, moving bag behind them. "Hmm?"  
  
"Let me out of here!" Zelgadiss yelled as his kidnappers dropped him on something hard. "Matte... I can use magic... Gourry's rubbing off on me," he said to himself, sitting cross legged. Lighting a small flame, he burnt a hole into the bag that held him captive. Stepping out of the hole he looked at the delighted children around him. "Who are you?"  
  
The children all squealed with glee. "He's talking to me!" one said.  
  
"Was not! He was talking to me!" another protested.  
  
"Are you the legendary cold magic using swordsman?" asked a little girl.  
  
"Cold? Magic using? Swordsman?" he replied as a thoughtful look spread over his face.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"It does, doesn't it? Seem a little unlike him..." Amelia looked around. "Zelgadiss-san!" She started off in search of him, forgetting her 'Justice mission' for the moment.  
  
"Ameria-san!" Filia called after her. "This is wonderful... she needs to tell him how she feels..."  
  
"Hnn..." Lina folded her arms and looked in the opposite direction from Amelia. She ran a hand through her hair and made a face (with those sideways P eyes), then turned back to the remaining people and asked, "So... should we follow them or leave them alone?"  
  
"Feelings? What?" Gourry looked from Filia to Amelia's back.  
  
Lina rolled her eyes at the dumb blonde. "Never mind, Gourry."  
  
"Should we go after her?" The ryuuzoku shifted Val's weight.  
  
"And interrupt? Not a good idea," the sorceress replied, eyes still narrowed.  
  
"???" She sighed.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"Zelgadiss-san! Zelgadiss-san! Where could he have gone?"  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Zelgadiss looked down from his old clay 'throne' at all the bowed children before him. A sweatdrop appeared at the back of his head as he thought, 'How did this happen...?' He had gotten carried away again... Zelgadiss stood up and started to walk towards the exit quietly.  
  
"Swordsman-sama, where are you goin?" a small girl with a quite high voice asked. His eyes glanced at her face before he continued to the exit. Then, he fell backwards from a forcefull pull at the back of his cape.  
  
"You can't go!" said a boy.  
  
"And why can't I go?"  
  
"Because... because... we need you to... to..." the boy replied, trying to think of a way out of the question.  
  
"Just tell him the truth!" another child piped. It's because you're our older brother!"  
  
Zelgadiss was now thrown against the stone walls by the blow of the explanation. "I'm your what?"  
  
"Older brother!" the all exclaimed at the same time.  
  
Xelloss did a doubletake. "Oya oya... and I'm sure Zel-chan is an only child..." he remarked with a sweatdrop. "Unless the Greywers family was able to hide something from us... though that's unlikely." Upon hearing Ameria's footsteps approaching, he took another position on the roof of a nearby building.  
  
The chimera looked around at all the hopeful faces of the children. "Now look... I'm not your older brother."  
  
"Yes you are! See, here's a picture!" said the small girl with the high voice. She pulled out a wrinkled piece of paper with a stick figure drawn on it.  
  
"...How exactly can you tell that that is me?"  
  
"Zelgadiss-san!" Ameria reached the block with the little children. "Ne!" she called to them. "Have you seen a tall, pebble-faced chimera in white robe-like clothes? ...that's actually really handsome despite his stonehearted coldness..." Her eyes went starry for a brief moment.  
  
Xelloss turned a pale blue and put his face in his hand. "Princess... positive... overflowing..." he gagged.  
  
"Ameria? What are you doing here?" All the children had run to hide behind Zelgadiss, revealing him to the princess's eyes.  
  
"Onii-sama... who's that?" they asked quietly.  
  
"Ahh... well... she's a friend."  
  
"Really?" They cautiously stepped out from behind him.  
  
"Oh... Zelgadiss-san..." Amelia blushed at the thought of him hearing her previous comment. "I... um... eh... are you all right?" She smiled down at the children to avert her eyes from the man, still blushing.  
  
"Amelia, I'm fine... come on, let's go back to everyone..." Zelgadiss said, crossing his arms and walking swiftly away from the children and past Amelia.  
  
"Onii-sama!" the children cried.  
  
"Listen... I'm not your onii-sama and I've never met him... it'll be better if you all stayed away from me anyway," he told them. As quickly as ever he walked away around the corner.  
  
"Umm... aren't you an only child?" Amelia asked as she strode alongside him.  
  
"Yes."  
  
She nodded, silent, a faint redness still spread across her nose, as they made their way to the others.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
"So..." Lina began, turning around and putting her hands behind her head. "What do we do in the meantime?"  
  
"Why don't we go buy some things for the trip?"  
  
"Good idea... almost forgot about that," she replied, adding a thoughtful look to it.  
  
"Let's go, then," Filia sighed, shaking her head.  
  
"Okay. So where's the food market?" the sorceress asked first.  
  
"That... way..." She pointed down a fork off the road. "Why must you alway think of food first, Lina-san?"  
  
"You dragons might live for centuries, but we don't. Gotta live life to the fullest, ne Gourry?" she answered, clasping her hands and drooling slightly at her image of all the foods in the world. The man nodded, drooling with her.  
  
Xelloss reappeared on a nearby rooftop, forgetting that Filia could naturally sense his presence. "Food again... Lina-san's train of thought is so simple."  
  
Filia glanced up at the rooftop suddenly, and glowered at the sight of the smiley face resting there. The finger belonging to the owner of that face pulled on an eyelid and stuck his tongue out at the ryuuzoku. Lina turned back around. "What's up, Filia?" She followed her gaze and noticed Xelloss. She slapped a hand to her face. "'ach... not this again..." Her thought was interrupted by the memory of the recent happening, and her cheeks pinked slightly.  
  
"Xelloss? Hi!" Gourry said cheerfully. "Lina... your face is turning a bit red... do you have a sunburn?"  
  
She kicked him and turned away to hide her face. Folding her arms in mild anger, she muttered, "A'ho." Xelloss sweatdropped and waved back at the swordsman. He was so dense...  
  
Gourry froze a moment before falling over in pain. As he was on the ground in pain, he opened his eyes slightly to see a shadow raise up from the ground. "What the..." he said, sitting up. He watched the small creature take the form of a rather big frog-like creature, only completely black. Its yellow eyes locked in a stare with him. "Oi... Lina..." he managed to say before the creature clawed his nose and sank back into the shadow. He shouted in pain.  
  
"Gourry?" Lina questioned a bit worriedly, though trying to hide it. She hadn't seen the creature, so she didn't know what happened.  
  
Xelloss blinked. "What was that?"  
  
"Nose... nose... my nose!" Gourry cried. His face was only two inches away from Lina's. He was pointing at the bandaged X where his nose was.  
  
"Gourry-san?" Filia turned from making faces at Xelloss. "What did you do to yourself?"  
  
"A-... wakateru wakateru!" Lina stammered, backing away from Gourry. "Umm... Filia, do you think you could heal it?" she asked, trying to get out of the awkward situation.  
  
"H-hai..." she answered, putting Val on the ground. She cast a healing spell on Gourry's nose. "There. Better?" she murmured with yet another sigh. That done, she turned to pick up Val again. Then, she screamed.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Hai, hai, I know I said we wouldn't update unless we got reviews... well, we got one! ^-^ Thankies! Want to know what happened to Zel? Want to tell me about any mistakes in here? (I didn't type this chapter! Blame it on her! *points to Flame* Just kidding, but she did type it...) Review! Click... 


End file.
